Text For Citation: 02 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: UNAPOPPROC

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the hazards of working in extremely cold environments which can result in frost bite of the extremities and hypothermia: Maintenance employees were exposed to the hazards of extremely cold temperatures of -30 degrees F while working in the ice cream freezer and -43 degrees F when working in the Hoyer and Greer hardening tunnels exposing them to the potential for frostbite of their extremities and/or hypothermia in the event that a worker remained in these areas for excessive periods of time during an entry and appropriate precautions were not being followed. Among other methods to correct this condition is the establishment of the following work practices for maintenance work by: a) establishing a procedure whereby working time within a operating freezer is limited and monitored during any one entry; b) establishing a specific warmup time period; c) establishing a policy of prohibiting entrance into an operating freezer of a single worker alone and requiring the use of a buddy system; d) establishing a communication system between workers in the freezer and other workers or supervision outside of the freezer; e) requiring the shutoff of the fans to the refrigeration system in the hardening tunnels prior to entrance therein.